Detroit Public Schools emergency manager Roy Roberts said he is leaving the district with a road map to eliminate the remaining $76-million deficit. / Andre J. Jackson/Detroit Free Press

Written by

Chastity Pratt Dawsey

Detroit Free Press Education Writer

When former General Motors executive Roy Roberts came out of retirement in 2011 at the age of 72 to run Detroit Public Schools, the district had a $327-million deficit, abysmal test scores and declining enrollment.

Now, the deficit has been reduced through selling bonds, and state test scores inched up this year. Enrollment declines persist, but Roberts, the state-appointed emergency manager, said he has accomplished all he could and is leaving DPS with a road map to eliminate the remaining $76 million in deficit. Roberts, now 74, will step down when his contract expires May 16.

He said that because of the progress, along with the announcement in April of a five-year strategic plan to retain and recruit students, he expects the financial emergency will be over in the next three years.

“Financially, we still face serious challenges, but we are improving,” Roberts said. “The deficit-elimination plan says we’re going to get rid of the deficit at the end of the 2015-16 school year — and we’re on track for that — and get out of here and turn (DPS) back over to the local people to run it.”

Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, appointed Roberts, a Democrat, to run DPS in May 2011 for one year, then reappointed him last year. Snyder has not committed to a time line for when he will announce Roberts’ replacement.

“Detroiters and Michiganders alike can be thankful for Roy’s leadership,” Snyder said in a written statement. “He has been successful in restoring fiscal responsibility, including reducing spending, saving money and balancing budgets. ... Schools are safer, more parents are involved, attendance is up, test scores are improving across the board, and more seniors are graduating.”

Before Roberts arrived, a plan was in place to shrink DPS into a smaller district and close more schools because of the declining enrollment. Roberts, at the behest of the governor, signed an interlocal agreement with Eastern Michigan University that created a separate state reform district in 2011. He relinquished 15 low-performing DPS schools with nearly 10,000 students to the new district last fall.

Roberts also reduced the deficit from $327 million to about $76 million by selling more than $200 million in bonds, buying the district more time to deal with its debt. He used 10% wage cuts, school closures and layoffs to help cut spending.

Despite lingering issues, Roberts ended the past two years’ budgets with more money left over in the coffers than expected. He gave some of it out as 2% bonuses last December to build good faith among disenchanted employees.

Under Roberts, DPS’s scores on the state’s standardized MEAP tests increased this year; however, the achievement gap between Detroit’s scores and the state averages since 2009 has worsened, data show.

The five-year strategic plan aims to turn schools into community centers that offer social services, provide art and music after school and improve customer service to build better relationships and retain families. Enrollment was at 74,000 students in 2011; it is down to about 50,000 now.

Raphaela Allen, whose son is in sixth grade at Durfee Elementary-Middle, said continued school closures makes it hard to see progress during Roberts’ tenure. “I don’t know what to think about him. ... Schools keep closing.”

“He has been able to significantly reduce the deficit. That has to be the measure because he was brought here to reduce the deficit,” she said.

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Roberts also invested in offering more workshops and information through the parent resource centers in schools and started Dads Clubs — parent organizations composed of men — in eight schools, Buckman said.

“He’s hasn’t been perfect, but he’s leaving the district in a better place than he found it.”

During the past two years, Roberts used his power over hiring and payroll to deny the school board the academic authority it had under a prior emergency financial manager law. A court battle with the board ensued, and Roberts lost, but a new emergency manager law restored all powers to the emergency manager in March.

Union and school board members who heard about the leadership change in a closed meeting with Roberts today were stunned. Keith Johnson, president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, said he had expected Roberts to discuss Monday’s upcoming visit by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

In announcing his departure, Roberts also said Chief Financial Officer Bill Aldridge will become the chief financial and administrative officer, partly to ensure some stability and institutional knowledge. Aldridge will oversee the procurement and logistics department, as well as technology and information services.

Before coming to the district, Roberts was known for having become the highest-ranking African-American executive in the U.S. automobile industry when he was promoted to GM’s group vice president for North American Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing.

“If somebody comes to my funeral,” Roberts said, “I would rather they say, ‘He did all he could for the children of the city of Detroit.’ That’s more important than saying, ‘He was the highest-ranking African American in the auto industry.’ We touched lives here.”